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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I Heard There Was A Secret Chord is absolutely fascinating.
Levitin takes a deep dive into the wide-ranging effects music has on our brains, with a specific focus on medical benefits.
There are some mind-blowing studies that show the positive impact that simply listening to music can have on both individuals and groups.
Medically, music therapy can show positive effects on people suffering with Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, dimentia and even pain and depression.
I’d be lying if I said that some of the more technical scientific and musical references didn’t go over my head. But it didn’t matter. I learned lots and the research and execution of this book deserve all of the praise.
Levitin takes a deep dive into the wide-ranging effects music has on our brains, with a specific focus on medical benefits.
There are some mind-blowing studies that show the positive impact that simply listening to music can have on both individuals and groups.
Medically, music therapy can show positive effects on people suffering with Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, dimentia and even pain and depression.
I’d be lying if I said that some of the more technical scientific and musical references didn’t go over my head. But it didn’t matter. I learned lots and the research and execution of this book deserve all of the praise.
informative
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Daniel J. Levitin, Recorded Books, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook is the author, Daniel J. Levitin. Mr. Levitin was the perfect narrator for this text. He is excited about presenting this research and his excitement is communicated to the listening reader.
This was truly fascinating and interesting. This explains how music can measurably impact humans of all ages and abilities. This explains how music can reach patients suffering from a variety of ailments.
This includes information about Dr. Oliver Sacks and his studies about the impact of music on his patients. This was dramatized in the movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams & Robert DeNiro. I remember watching this movie in the theatre and how it felt like a miracle. This book is a bit more scientific but extends much of the hopeful feeling of the movie.
Much of the medical and even musical terminology is over my head. I'm much more into books than music and the only medical jargon I'm familiar with deals with my own rare disease or loved ones medical issues. Yet, I never felt lost in the text or confused.
The only thing I'd add is there's a chapter about 10% into the audiobook where the author discusses the octaves, scales and rhythmic timing used by various cultures. He states that Europeans have the least range in octave music scales primarily using the straight notes and the same with rhythmic timing. An example given in the text is that Jazz music is pentatonic with an added blue note the tritone. Compared to Arabic music which has added micro-notes between the scales. Western music uses a 2:1 & 3:1 rhythm compared to 'African' music which uses 5:3 or even 13:11 rhythm. He then says that the most rhythmic music in Western culture is swing jazz. The problem here is Jazz isn't inherently Western. It's Black American music heavily based on 'African' rhythmic timing. Its certainly ok to label it Western as long as its specified as Black Western. There also seems to be a touch of condescension when dealing with non-Western music. It is arguably more complex than Western music using the authors own measurements but this narrative seems unwilling to acknowledge that difference in complexity for no rational reason. I would provide quotes but I'm dealing with an audiobook and I could be misunderstanding but the tone the narration uses conveys a slight condescension of non-western music. It defines Arabic music as not having 48 scales but doesn't really explain exactly why this is believed by the generic 'some' and exactly why he doesn't believe this to be true scales and instead what is referred to as micro-notes in the text. I was listening/reading to review this book at the same time I was listening/reading Blacksound by Matthew D. Morrison. So, I was particularly attuned to this I'm sure unintended bias on the author's part. It did not deeply impact my enjoyment of the book but did make me side eye some of his conclusions.
Thank you to Daniel J. Levitin, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
The narrator of this audiobook is the author, Daniel J. Levitin. Mr. Levitin was the perfect narrator for this text. He is excited about presenting this research and his excitement is communicated to the listening reader.
This was truly fascinating and interesting. This explains how music can measurably impact humans of all ages and abilities. This explains how music can reach patients suffering from a variety of ailments.
This includes information about Dr. Oliver Sacks and his studies about the impact of music on his patients. This was dramatized in the movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams & Robert DeNiro. I remember watching this movie in the theatre and how it felt like a miracle. This book is a bit more scientific but extends much of the hopeful feeling of the movie.
Much of the medical and even musical terminology is over my head. I'm much more into books than music and the only medical jargon I'm familiar with deals with my own rare disease or loved ones medical issues. Yet, I never felt lost in the text or confused.
The only thing I'd add is there's a chapter about 10% into the audiobook where the author discusses the octaves, scales and rhythmic timing used by various cultures. He states that Europeans have the least range in octave music scales primarily using the straight notes and the same with rhythmic timing. An example given in the text is that Jazz music is pentatonic with an added blue note the tritone. Compared to Arabic music which has added micro-notes between the scales. Western music uses a 2:1 & 3:1 rhythm compared to 'African' music which uses 5:3 or even 13:11 rhythm. He then says that the most rhythmic music in Western culture is swing jazz. The problem here is Jazz isn't inherently Western. It's Black American music heavily based on 'African' rhythmic timing. Its certainly ok to label it Western as long as its specified as Black Western. There also seems to be a touch of condescension when dealing with non-Western music. It is arguably more complex than Western music using the authors own measurements but this narrative seems unwilling to acknowledge that difference in complexity for no rational reason. I would provide quotes but I'm dealing with an audiobook and I could be misunderstanding but the tone the narration uses conveys a slight condescension of non-western music. It defines Arabic music as not having 48 scales but doesn't really explain exactly why this is believed by the generic 'some' and exactly why he doesn't believe this to be true scales and instead what is referred to as micro-notes in the text. I was listening/reading to review this book at the same time I was listening/reading Blacksound by Matthew D. Morrison. So, I was particularly attuned to this I'm sure unintended bias on the author's part. It did not deeply impact my enjoyment of the book but did make me side eye some of his conclusions.
Thank you to Daniel J. Levitin, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.